New member introduction

Welcome aboard GENE!!!!  Lots o good info here from our members.  Ask questions and people will chime in to help you out.  Good Luck on your build and enjoy this great hobby.

Nice to have you aboard. There are many to assist you here.

Jim K

Gene welcome to OGR. You are correct about the assistance being excellent. If you have not tried the SEARCH feature, be sure to do so. It is an incredible resource.

@Genemed posted:

I will post pictures of my building and layout progress on the appropriate posts.

Gene

Welcome to the forum Gene! There’s so much valuable information here! Great forum and great members who contribute all that wonderful knowledge. Might I suggest to also make your own thread to document your build for others to follow easily. Enjoy your build and most importantly, have fun with it! Happy Railroading!

Hi Gene,

Welcome aboard.

I enjoyed reading  your OP. It reminded me of the time I joined this Forum.

Like you, I was not into social media. In fact, I had zero involvement with social media, on line forums and the like, except for doing a little Facebook.

Unlike you, I joined this Forum almost immediately after I found out about it, from one of our fearless leaders, Alan Arnold, back in November 2017, and I have been one of the most active Forum members ever since.

For me, this Forum is a great a source for knowledge and information about our great hobby and wonderful trains, comraderie, a place to express one's creativity, and entertainment. 

You should derive many of the same benefits that I have as a Forum member.

Except for my heavy involvement here, a little bit of involvement on Facebook, and occasional involvement with LinkedIn for my profession, I don't do any other social media.

Again, Gene, welcome aboard. Arnold

Hi Gene. I've been here for a little over 7 years. I found the site because every google search I did brought me here, so I quickly joined when I started my layout. It is an amazing source of info and camaraderie for train nuts like us. All of the sponsors are great too.

Please keep us posted on your build. Got a track plan to share? If not, then how big, what period are you modeling, loop runner, operator, or both???????

Inquiring minds want to know.

This site is the closest I'll ever get to social media sites too. I find them to be a tremendous waste of time.

Bob

Thanks to all. I regret not joining earlier. Being retired and starting the layout last October I’ve accomplished quite a bit, missing the opportunity to start a build thread from the beginning. Most of my buildings are finished for this phase of the layout, now working on ballasting and scenery. Here’s a couple of pics.

Gene.......welcome and well done!

Look forward to seeing more pics of your work!

Peter

The original plan is based on the 4x8 Cisco RR from the O gauge railroading plan book. I designed my revised edition with the help of the Anyrail program. The size is now 4x17 with a future additional loop.

Very nice Gene. I just saw your structures on the Sunday Scenic Showcase. Very nice work.

You will find that we are a bunch of enablers, and are generally a bad influence.......I see a very large, empty basement in the background........layout expansion space????

Bob

Welcome Gene - I joined about 4 months ago, and my story is similar.  HO from childhood until last year with "breaks", dabbled in N in the mid 90's.  Got started in O about 1 year ago.  I have just been acquiring trains.

Hope to start a layout soon.  Currently living in a 1 bedroom apartment, but it has a large living room, 20' long if I don't need to access the closet.  So you may have inspired me to get going.  Please provide basic Information on your layout size and construction used.  Think I could do something similar, could build with removable legs for if I move.

See, your first post an you are contributing already!

Thanks - Jim

@RSJB18 posted:

Very nice Gene. I just saw your structures on the Sunday Scenic Showcase. Very nice work.

You will find that we are a bunch of enablers, and are generally a bad influence.......I see a very large, empty basement in the background........layout expansion space????

Bob

Thanks, my plan this fall is building a wall at the end of the layout and possibly starting a workshop on the unfinished side.

@Genemed posted:

The original plan is based on the 4x8 Cisco RR from the O gauge railroading plan book. I designed my revised edition with the help of the Anyrail program. The size is now 4x17 with a future additional loop.

I particularly like the interconnectedness on your layout, Gene. Makes for fun operations.

Thanks Arnold, with the direction of trains running I may add an additional set of turnouts going to the other loop for ease of direction.

@Genemed posted:

Thanks Arnold, with the direction of trains running I may add an additional set of turnouts going to the other loop for ease of direction.

I opted for, and built, a switching layout with 2 main loops that are independently powered and interconnected. It also has 8 independently powered and interconnected sidings and 1 independently powered and interconnected passing siding.

I don't think I have a diagram of it. I ad libbed over a long time when I built it. It has held my interest for 25 years. Arnold

Here's a short video showing the most interconnected portion of my long and narrow, around the walls, switching layout that meanders through the playroom and laundry room in my basement:

Arnold

Welcome aboard, Gene! If you ever fell like doing a step-by-step construction article about how you make your buildings, please keep the magazine in mind. If accepted, the article will get you a few extra bucks and you'll be sharing your creativity with an additional audience in many cases. Just contact me if you might be interested.

Thanks Arnold, that’s exactly what I would like to do.

Welcome aboard, Gene!!  Your story of how you grew in the hobby sounds just like mine, except I joined OGR when I was 55, just over 10 years ago.  I'm retired now and have been working on my layout for a few years.  If you haven't seen my layout planning-build-replanning-build-etc topic, a link is in my signature line, but I'll post it here as well.  Blackwater Canyon Line  I'm not blowing my own horn.  Instead, I believe it is a great example how folks on this Forum come together to help each other with new ideas and skills.  My layout would be much less without the help form every member on this Forum.

Gene welcome to the forum.

Looking forward to seeing your buildings and more progress on your layout. Work and life are keeping progress slow on my layout. So no thread to follow at this time. You'll see me pop in on the "what have you done on your layout" thread from time to time.